- US forces strike Iranian oil tankers, Tehran targets Jordan base, US warships
Source: Al Jazeera [Qatari state media]
“The United States has attacked five Iranian oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman and near Kharg Island after accusing Tehran of launching ballistic missiles at a US warship twice in two days. Iran responded to Tuesday’s attacks by firing missiles at US forces stationed at the Al Azraq base in Jordan. It also claimed additional strikes on at least two US vessels and eight tankers in the region, saying the assaults caused ‘great damage’.” (09/09/26)
- Trump escalates war on US economy, bans some Canadian imports
Source: Axios
“President Trump said the U.S. would ban Canadian alcohol, some dairy products and large motorcycles, sharply escalating a trade war largely fought with tariffs. The measures deepen the economic rift between countries that have spent decades interlinking commerce, threatening disruption for businesses and consumers on both sides of the border. The import bans take effect Sept. 29, effectively cutting off U.S. market access for the targeted Canadian goods rather than simply making them more expensive. … Trade tensions have ratcheted up swiftly since U.S.-Canada talks collapsed last month. The U.S. imposed 50% tariffs on [American buyers of] roughly $20 billion of Canadian goods. Canada hit back with tariffs of up to 50% on ][Canadian buyers of] a similar amount of U.S. goods, a measure that took effect earlier Tuesday.” (09/08/26)
https://www.axios.com/2026/09/08/trump-tariffs-canada-import-ban-alcohol-dairy-motorcycles
- Russian drones kill two at Ukraine-Moldova border crossing, authorities say
Source: Reuters
“Russian drones hit a border crossing between Ukraine and Moldova in the southern region of Odesa, killing two people, and attacked the country’s capital Kyiv overnight, Ukrainian authorities said on Wednesday. Two civilians near the Starokozache crossing were killed and three others injured in the attack, Governor Oleh Kiper said on Telegram. Passengers and vehicle traffic was temporarily halted across the border after the attack, which caused a major fire, officials said. Russia also attacked Kyiv overnight, causing fires but no casualties, emergency services said in a Telegram post.” (09/09/26)
- Kavanagh won’t revive Missouri’s GOP congressional re-gerrymander for midterms
Source: The Hill
“Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh on Tuesday refused to restore Missouri’s new congressional map, which was poised to give Republicans a pickup opportunity this November, but the map’s fate remains unclear after a ruling in a separate lawsuit. Missouri Republicans hope to return to the new 7-1 House map favoring them after the Show Me State’s top court ruled officials must revert to their its existing GOP-leaning 6-2 House map for the midterm elections. Kavanaugh, an appointee of President Trump, handles emergency matters arising from Missouri by default. His one-sentence order declining to intervene contained no explanation. It appeared to be a setback for Republicans, who had hoped to dismantle and flip a Kansas City-area seat held by Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D).” (09/08/26)
https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/6077470-supreme-court-missouri-congressional-map/
- NH: Sununu wins GOP’s US Senate primary, will face Pappas in November
Source: The Guardian [UK]
“Former senator John E Sununu triumphed on Tuesday in the New Hampshire Republican Senate primary [versus] Scott Brown, earning the GOP nod in what will likely be a must-win race if Democrats hope to seize the upper chamber. … Sununu will face congressman Chris Pappas, who beat back a progressive challenger in the Democratic primary, advancing as most observers expected to what will be a closely watched general election that is critical to Democratic hopes of flipping the upper chamber.” (09/08/26)
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/sep/08/new-hampshire-republican-senate-primary
- Germany: Suspect arrested in power grid attacks after dayslong search
Source: ABC News
“Police arrested a suspect Tuesday in connection with a series of attacks on power distribution systems across Germany which had led to a massive, dayslong search. A 48-year-old man was arrested near a power plant in Weisweiler, in the western state of North Rhine-Westphalia. The man … was in possession of explosives and offered no resistance at the time of his arrest, Cologne police said in a statement. … The incidents took place as the country was on high alert after the government blamed Russia for an attempted attack at Leipzig/Halle Airport on Aug. 4 using a drone laden with explosives.” (09/8/260
- Putin assures Trump that Moscow doesn’t have aggressive plans toward Europe, Kremlin says
Source: SFGate
“Russian President Vladimir Putin assured U.S. President Donald Trump in a phone call Tuesday that Moscow doesn’t harbor aggressive intentions toward Europe, a senior Kremlin official said, after European officials blamed Moscow for sabotage campaigns on their soil. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said meanwhile that U.S. envoys who visited Kyiv presented some ‘very good, worthwhile ideas’ for ending Russia’s 4 1/2-year-old war, adding that he hopes to meet with Trump within two weeks. But Russia remains determined to accomplish its military goals and it believes it is close to winning, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. Ukrainian and Western observers, however, believe that Moscow has been unable to make any significant progress on the front line. The war could yet drag on for years as Russia reconstitutes its forces and its defense industry, said U.S. Undersecretary of Defense Elbridge Colby. ‘We must be prepared for a protracted conflict and for Ukraine’s requirements to persist in the months and years ahead’, Colby told an online meeting of countries helping Ukraine.” (09/08/26)
- Tunisia: Journalists Protest Over Media Crackdown After Colleague’s Arrest
Source: US News & World Report
“Tunisian journalists protested on Tuesday to demand the release of prominent journalist Mohamed Yousfi, whose arrest has become a new flashpoint amid accusations that President Kais Saied is cracking down on the country’s remaining independent voices. The protesters, who also included activists, gathered outside a court where a judge was questioning Yousfi over illicit enrichment and money laundering charges, which critics say were fabricated to punish him for his outspoken journalism. Yousfi, a fierce critic of Saied and the editor-in-chief of investigative news website Al-Qatiba, was arrested last Friday as he was preparing to enter Express FM Radio to take part in a radio programme. His arrest prompted widespread condemnation of Saied’s government, with rights groups saying the case was aimed at increasing a climate of fear among journalists.” (09/08/26)
- Pritzker launches $20 million pre-midterms PAC
Source: Politico
“A new political action committee chaired by Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker plans to invest at least $20 million aimed at boosting Democratic House candidates for the midterms while also expanding his national political footprint ahead of a potential 2028 presidential run. The ‘Ready for the Fight’ PAC — evoking a phrase Pritzker uses to close his political speeches — will focus on what the governor says are overlooked races, as well as a few competitive contests, according to Pritzker’s team. The PAC plans to reserve air time against the embattled Rep. Max Miller in Ohio’s 7th Congressional District and Brandon Herrera, a Republican candidate in Texas’[s] 23rd Congressional District. Both are running in Republican-leaning districts, but Pritzker sees an opening, arguing they’re weak candidates facing a Democrat-friendly national climate.” (09/08/26)
https://www.politico.com/news/2026/09/08/jb-pritzker-launches-midterms-pac-01067062
- Hungary: Regime Expels 10 Russian Diplomats, Foreign Minister Says
Source: US News & World Report
“Hungary expelled 10 Russian diplomats on Tuesday, saying they had acted in ways incompatible with their diplomatic status, in a stark reminder that the pro-Russian years of former Prime Minister Viktor Orban are over. Russia’s Foreign Ministry said it would retaliate and its response would be painful for Hungary, Interfax news agency reported. … Those kicked out ‘were engaged in activities in Hungary that are unacceptable for diplomats under the Vienna Convention,’ Hungarian Foreign Minister Anita Orban, who is not related to the former prime minister, said in an emailed statement on Tuesday. ‘This decision … does not imply breaking off diplomatic relations with Russia. Hungary intends to continue the necessary dialogue,’ the statement added.” (09/08/26)
- Three paintings worth $10 million stolen from Renoir Museum in southern France
Source: Al Jazeera [Qatari state media]
“Three paintings have been stolen from a museum dedicated to French impressionist painter Pierre-Auguste Renoir in southern France in an early morning burglary. Two thieves broke into the museum in Cagnes-sur-Mer, near Nice, a little before 6am (0400 GMT) and took four paintings, Mayor Bryan Masson said in a post on social media on Tuesday. ‘Spotted thanks to the town’s video surveillance cameras, the two individuals fled, abandoning one of the stolen paintings as they ran,’ Masson said, adding his office estimated the value of the stolen works at 9 million euros ($10.5m). … The theft comes less than a year after eight items valued at about $100m were stolen during a daylight robbery from the famed Louvre Museum in Paris.” (09/08/26)
- PA: Ex-priest charged in nearly $750k theft spree, targeting church groups and his mother
Source: Fox News
“A Pennsylvania priest is facing charges after prosecutors say he stole more than $740,000 from churches, church affiliates – and his own mother. Gregory Allen Madeya, 69, was arrested last month in Vero Beach, Florida and was later extradited back to Pennsylvania. Investigators say he is a former Ukrainian Catholic priest whose crimes started in 2018. He served at Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Ukrainian Catholic Church in Derry Township, according to the Latrobe Bulletin. Madeya allegedly stole from various churches and the Knights of Columbus as well as ‘nearly $250,000 from his mother, who was of the age when she could not manage her own finances,’ the attorney general’s office said. Following a lengthy investigation, detectives uncovered that Madeya allegedly fraudulently misappropriated nearly $320,000 from churches and donors.” (09/08/26)
- Australia: Regime targets social media algorithms with new user-choice rules
Source: Reuters
“Australia on Tuesday proposed giving social media users the option to select the content they see on their feeds, marking the next step in the government’s push to improve online safety, following its world-first social media ban for children. Under draft laws proposed by the centre-left Labor government, social media platforms will be required to notify users and offer them a choice over their default feed. Users can choose to opt in to having their default feed include personalised content recommended by an algorithm. Alternatively, they can opt out of algorithmically recommended content and instead see posts only from the friends and creators they choose to follow.” [editor’s note: If users want that and are willing to pay for it in some way, they’ll get it without government requirements – TLK] (09/08/26)
- British widow faces deportation from Sweden after 22 years
Source: BBC News [UK state media]
“A 78-year-old British widow has told the BBC she is struggling to eat or sleep as the Swedish government threatens to deport her over a late post-Brexit residence application. Joyce Thomas, a retired nurse, moved to Sweden 22 years ago with her husband, who passed away from cancer three years ago. This came after they were informed by the Swedish authorities that they should have made a formal application to stay in the country after Brexit. Thomas has since had numerous applications and appeals rejected, and Tuesday marks the latest deadline for her to leave voluntarily. ‘This is absolute hell’, she said from her home in Sweden. ‘I can’t sleep, I can’t eat. You get up in the morning, you don’t know what’s going to happen.'” (09/08/26)
- Petition Urging Mamdani’s Exclusion From 9/11 Event Hits 100,000 Signs Amid Similar Push By Giuliani, Pataki
Source: Forbes
“An online petition calling for New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s exclusion from the 9/11 remembrance ceremony later this week has crossed 100,000 signatures amid a similar push made by several prominent Republican leaders from the state, including former Mayor Rudy Giuliani and former Gov. George Pataki. … The petition says the organizers oppose Mamdani’s attendance because of various ‘public positions, associations, and responses to rhetoric’ that are hostile to their values. The petition then outlines eight grievances against the New York Mayor, including allegations of support or association with people who are ‘dismissive of American institutions or insufficiently critical of extremist ideologies.'” (09/08/26)
- Americans’ satisfaction with schools at a low point, new Gallup poll shows
Source: SFGate
“Americans’ satisfaction with the quality of K-12 education in the country has hit a low point, driven by a growing political divide and concerns that schools are not preparing children for college and future jobs. Just 32% of American adults say they are ‘completely’ or ‘somewhat’ satisfied with the U.S. school system, according to an August poll published Tuesday by Gallup and the Walton Family Foundation and shared exclusively with The Associated Press. That’s an 11-point drop over the past two years and the lowest since Gallup began polling on the subject 27 years ago. At the same time, dissatisfaction has increased to a high of 67%. Experts on education and school policy say the findings are deeply concerning but not surprising. Democrats are driving the recent slide, with their satisfaction dropping about 19 points since President Donald Trump’s second term began in 2025.” (09/08/26)
- New Panama Canal chief says El Nino could force further transit cuts
Source: South China Morning Post [Hong Kong]
“The number of ships sailing through the Panama Canal could be cut further due to drought caused by the El Nino weather pattern, the new administrator of the waterway said on Monday. Panama has declared a nationwide emergency over El Nino, a phenomenon developing over the Pacific Ocean that is affecting worldwide weather patterns and pushing up global temperatures. This year’s El Nino is expected to be the strongest since record-keeping began four decades ago. Panama’s restrictions come even as use of the canal has risen …. Each ship requires about 200 million litres of water, which is then discharged into the sea. In 2023, El Nino forced a reduction in daily transits from 38 to 22 due to the dramatic reduction in reservoir levels.” (09/08/26)
- Report Says UAE Explicitly Warned Netanyahu of October 7 Attack
Source: Common Dreams
“Policy experts in the US and Middle East on Tuesday were among those responding to an “astonishing” new investigation from Haaretz, which detailed how Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was alerted weeks before the Hamas-led October 7, 2023 attack that a ‘major event’ was being planned by the Palestinian group – an assault that killed more than 1,200 Israelis and which Israel has responded to by slaughtering more than 73,000 Palestinians so far in Gaza. Highlighting revelations contained in an upcoming book called Hostages: 843 Days of Abandonment, by journalists Shlomi Eldar and Ruth Yuval, the Israeli newspaper reported that Netanayahu dismissed a warning about the attack from United Arab Emirates President Mohammed bin Zayed, which came in a phone call in September 2023.” (09/08/26)
https://www.commondreams.org/news/did-netanyahu-know-about-oct-7
- Sapporo beer moves some production from Canada to the US after Trump’s tariffs
Source: The News International [Pakistan]
“Sapporo is shifting some production from Canada to the United States after President Donald Trump’s 50 percent tariffs hit beer brewed in Canada for the US market. The Japanese brewer plans to move production of non-alcoholic beer currently made in Canada for American consumers to the US by the first half of 2027, Bloomberg reported. … Sapporo is considering buying or building a brewery on the US West Coast or using a contract brewer to support the shift.” (09/08/26)
- Brazil: Supreme Court removes federal police chief, deepening crisis at top
Source: SFGate
“Brazilian Supreme Court Justice André Mendonca on Tuesday removed the head of the country’s federal police and its intelligence chief from their posts, deepening a crisis at the top court and drawing President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s government into the turmoil ahead of October national elections. Mendonca, an appointee of former President Jair Bolsonaro, said in his ruling that federal police Director-General Andrei Rodrigues, a Lula nominee, and the intelligence director of the force, Leandro Almada, headed an organization that allegedly produced six illegal reports on the justice’s activities through the end of August. Mendonca currently chairs two politically sensitive investigations: one into the collapse of Banco Master, which has ensnared several politicians, and another into alleged frauds in Brazil’s pension system. The first has hit mostly figures of the country’s opposition, while the latter has raised questions of wrongdoing by one of Lula’s sons.” (09/08/26)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/world/article/brazil-supreme-court-removes-federal-police-22422186.php
- Stop Letting Politicians Milk 9/11 For Their Own Benefit
Source: Garrison Center
by Thomas L Knapp“As of September 8, Forbes reports, more than 100,000 people have signed a petition asking organizers of New York City’s 9/11 Commemoration Ceremony to ‘carefully consider whether [New York City mayor Zohran] Mamdani’s participation would align with the intention of the ceremony and the expectations of the families most directly affected by the tragedy.’ Coming from family members of people who died in the 9/11 attacks, the petition deserves a respectful hearing, whether the claims about Mamdani’s sentiments, sympathies and past actions ring true or not. They’re the people who lost loved ones. The ceremony is, or should be, for them. Unfortunately, some less deserving people compulsively run to the front of parades that aren’t about them. One such person is former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani.” (09/08/26)
- America After 9/11: 25 Years of Fear, War, Surveillance and Permanent Emergency
Source: Rutherford Institute
by John & Nisha Whitehead“Twenty-five years after 9/11, one has to ask: has the nightmare ever really ended? For a quarter-century, Americans have been governed by fear: fear of terrorists and foreign enemies, fear of domestic extremists and political opponents, fear of the next attack, the next crisis, the next emergency.That fear has given us endless war, mass surveillance, militarized police, secret courts, indefinite detention, government watchlists, domestic military deployments and an imperial presidency armed with powers that would have been unthinkable before 9/11. Now the man entrusted with the imperial powers of the modern-day presidency is publicly imagining himself enthroned over robotic armies, raining destruction on his enemies and promising nightmares. The imagery may be unhinged from reality, but the powers of the presidency are not.” (09/08/26)
- A Republic, If You Can Keep It
Source: Independent Institute
by William J Watkins, Jr.“An appreciation of the Constitution’s role in fashioning the American republic must begin with the American Revolution. More precisely, the impetus for the Revolution. The literature of the period yields one overarching theme: self-government.” (09/08/26)
https://www.independent.org/article/2026/09/08/a-republic-if-you-can-keep-it/
- Bite by Bite: The Value of Virtue Signaling
Source: Liberalism.org
by Sarah Skwire“One of the reasons some people scoff at virtue signaling is because they say it is performative—that the actions taken by virtue signalers are only done because other people see them. … But I think the performative aspect is exactly why virtue signaling is valuable. I marched because I wanted my kids to know that anti-immigrant actions and sentiments are not something that I will silently accept. I marched because I wanted my neighbors to know the same thing. And, though I didn’t know it when I set out, I marched because I wanted the families who stood in their doorways wearing traditional dress from their home countries to see friendly faces on the sidewalks of their town on a day when they felt threatened. None of that will change the political kerfuffle over immigration one bit. But it might help change my neighborhood just a little. And that’s valuable to me.” (09/08/26)
https://www.liberalism.org/p/bite-by-bite-the-value-of-virtue-signaling
- An Attack on Tech Freedom, an Assault on Dissent
Source: Center for a Stateless Society
by staff“We live in a world of surveillance states, militarized police, and crackdowns on dissent. Meanwhile, corporate behemoths will often ally with the state to shut down dissident speech or aid and abet surveillance. In this context, it’s important for independent groups to develop and maintain encrypted communications platforms and independent web hosting. But the Trump administration recently declared that an Italian tech collective is a ‘Specially Designated Global Terrorist’ for doing exactly this. … The executive branch can unilaterally declare that a provider of web hosting, email services, and other communications infrastructure is a ‘Specially Designated Global Terrorist.’ By doing so, they can impose sanctions, and thereby destroy that provider. This can impose serious costs on speakers, organizers, and researchers that use the providers’ services. And the executive branch can do all of this unilaterally. No charges, warrants, trial, or due process is necessary.” (09/08/260
- Congress spends $7 trillion. Here’s how that math works out if you think of just $100
Source: Fox News
by Ted Jenkin“You work. You get paid. Washington takes its cut. But have you ever stopped to ask one simple question: Where does the money actually go? Forget trillion-dollar numbers for a minute. Most Americans can’t comprehend the difference between $1 trillion and $7 trillion anyway. Let’s shrink Washington down to something we all understand: a $100 bill. In fiscal year 2025, the federal government spent roughly $7 trillion. Social Security alone consumed about $1.6 trillion. Major federal health programs, including Medicare and Medicaid, were another enormous piece. Defense approached $900 billion. And then there’s the number that should make every taxpayer spit out their morning coffee: interest. The federal government spent about $970 billion just on net interest on the national debt. Not roads. Not teachers. Not soldiers. Not Social Security checks.” (09/08/26)
https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/congress-spends-7-trillion-heres-math-works-100
- Nothing is Ever Our Fault
Source: Underthrow
by Max Borders“A cultural rot pervades the West. It oozes into the tissues of society, making our civilization infirm. Those who remain unseized by it are becoming acutely aware of its reach. Awareness is the first step to understanding it and giving it an honest assessment. If we are to stop it, we can no longer afford to simply ignore it and hope it goes away. It originates in three underlying pathologies—all psychosocial—that spread like contagions. All three reinforce a central idea that personal responsibility is dead.” (09/08/26)
- Medicare now covers CBD, but Congress wants to ban it
Source: USA Today
by Maddie Salamone & Caitlin Styrsky“A new Medicare pilot program covers hemp-derived cannabidiol (CBD) products to treat certain patients, even as Congress is moving forward with a law that will effectively wipe those same products off the market. The resulting policy quagmire threatens patient access, undermines the work of entrepreneurs and highlights a deeper truth: Hemp already plays a role in American health care, whether federal lawmakers are ready to acknowledge it or not. Millions of Americans across the country are using full-spectrum CBD products not for recreation, but for relief.” (09/08/26)
https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2026/09/08/medicare-cbd-costs-health-insurance/91547732007/
- “You Better Get Ready for … War”: Socialists Call for “War in the Streets” and the End of Capitalism
Source: Jonathan Turley
by Jonathan Turley“‘You better get ready for … war’. Across the country, radicals are openly planning for the next stage of their movement, and notably, the Democratic establishment is not part of their plans. Despite the talk of a ‘Big Tent Party’, socialists are riding high on a surge of support and talking purges and revolution. In Chicago, radicals gathered for a conference on Marxism during what many view as the heyday of socialism in the United States. The Democratic Socialists of America is now larger and more powerful than at any time in our history. Socialist candidates are winning elections across the country as Democratic establishment figures from Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) to Gov. Gavin Newsom (CA) pander to the movement. Speakers in Chicago used the conference to push supporters to the next stage in the movement, including some openly calling for violence and the end to capitalism.” (09/08/26)
- America’s Child-Adults
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
by Jacob G Hornberger“Karyann Parkinson has just been convicted by a Virginia judge of ‘contributing to the delinquency of a minor.’ How did she supposedly do that? She let her 5-year-old son walk to a pond near their home in a gated community to collect goose feathers. An HOA security guard interrupted the kid’s quest, returned him to his mother, and called the cops. Parkinson was arrested and then convicted. The case raises important issues regarding parental rights, children’s rights, and the role of the state in matters relating to the welfare of children. Rather than address the Parkinson case, however, I wish to confront what I consider is a much bigger problem regarding parent-child relations: the role of the American people as child-adults and the role of the federal government’s role as their daddy.” (09/08/260
- Democrats’ faux affordability agenda will cost Americans big time
Source: New York Post
by Isaac Schorr“Americans’ continued exasperation with the cost of living crisis is no hoax, but Democrats’ affordability theater is little more than a dubious con job. After watching Zohran Mamdani upset Andrew Cuomo in last year’s mayoral race, both radicals and relative moderates alike took the hint: Voters are desperate for candidates who speak to the frustration they feel at the gas pump, in the grocery line and after every utility payment. It’s a lesson they’ve taken to heart on the campaign trail this election cycle. Embattled Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer won’t shut up about his conference’s ‘affordability agenda’, and the progressive caucus in the House is pitching itself using the exact same phrase. ‘Democrats in Key Senate Races Campaign on Addressing GOP Affordability Crisis, Bringing Down Costs, and Making Life Easier’, crowed the wordy headline of a Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee press release issued on Friday.” (09/07/26)
https://nypost.com/2026/09/07/opinion/democrats-faux-affordability-agenda-will-cost-americans/
- To take Marx’s warning about monopoly capitalism seriously
Source: Adam Smith Institute
by Tim Worstall“The US health care system includes many employers, each competing for the money that can be made off the services of a nurse. The NHS is the – near – monopsonistic employer of nurses in the United Kingdom. Karl was quite right, the workers get screwed by the single employer. There’s not all that much Marx did get right – and most of what he did was what he cribbed from Smith and Ricardo – but this part, monopoly purchase of labour being bad for workers is one of those few things correct that he independently arrived at.” (09/08/260
https://www.adamsmith.org/blog/to-take-marxs-warning-about-monopoly-capitalism-seriously
- Oh My God, Shut The Fuck Up About “Antisemitism”
Source: Caitlin Johnstone, Rogue Journalist
by Caitlin Johnstone“‘Antisemitism’ watchdog groups are flipping the fuck out about hip hop artist Macklemore saying ‘Free Palestine’ while opening for Ed Sheeran, and the western press are of course helping to spin this ridiculous nonsense as a massive scandal. [extended quote] … Our society is so brainwashed and dystopian that THIS is being framed by the news media as a controversial and incendiary statement. A normal person might assume this is the most obvious and inoffensive thing a celebrity could possibly say about any issue of moral importance, but you’d never know this from the Israel apologists and the headlines in the mainstream press. ‘Controversy swirls following pro-Palestinian comments made by Macklemore at MetLife Stadium before Ed Sheeran concert,’ reads a headline by CBS News. ‘Macklemore faces renewed backlash over ‘Free Palestine’ remarks,’ says USA Today.” (09/08/26)
https://caitlinjohnstone.com.au/2026/09/08/oh-my-god-shut-the-fuck-up-about-antisemitism/
- The Swinging Sixties, Chicago School Style
Source: The Daily Economy
by Paul McDonnold“At the height of the cultural revolution, a group of Chicago economists was quietly launching one of its own.” (09/08/26)
https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/the-swinging-sixties-chicago-school-style/
- Nowhere to hide: AI blurs the rules of anonymity
Source: Washington Post
by James Harkin“What recourse do people have when encryption technology that they thought was pretty good comes up against an AI program capable of impressive mathematical reasoning? In a July blog post, Anthropic disclosed that its researchers, using their Claude Mythos Preview model, had discovered improved ways to attack cryptographic algorithms (the mathematical methods used to keep online data private) — a development with transformative implications for cryptography. The concern here isn’t just about protecting data — it’s also about protecting identities. In the last few decades, society has found sophisticated ways to blur or redact things to protect people’s anonymity. But as it begins to flex its muscles, AI may be able to de-blur them instantly.” (09/08/26)
- Family benefits in America 2025 report card
Source: Niskanen Center
by Joshua McCabe“Families with young children are potentially eligible for dozens of public benefits to support them during periods of unemployment and to supplement their earnings during periods of employment. Access to these benefits varies depending on earnings, marital status, age of the children, and where families reside. This patchwork across programs and states is so complex that social scientists, advocates, and policymakers often narrow their focus to examine a single program in isolation. While this gives a clear view of the impact of any one program, it risks missing the forest for the trees.” (09/08/26)
https://www.niskanencenter.org/family-benefits-in-america-2025-report-card/
- Quibbling Over the Definition of Private Property
Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
by Wanjiru Njoya“Property rights are defined in many ways. It often happens that academics who are interested in the scope, regulation, or protection of private property rights debate endlessly at cross purposes because they do not share the same definition of property rights in the first place. Some debaters attempt to beat their opponents by initiating a definitional game of ‘gotcha.'” (09/08/260
https://mises.org/mises-wire/quibbling-over-definition-private-property
- No, Abdul, My Kids Are Not “All of Our Kids”
Source: Town Hall
by Derek Hunter“Leftists are coming for your kids. They always have been, so that’s not breaking news, but you have to be reminded of this on occasion so no one forgets and everyone can act accordingly. Kids are easy to indoctrinate; easy to convince of stupid things, that lies are truth. If you have kids, you know how this works. I’d never realized how easily you could joke and have everything you say be taken seriously by your kid because they don’t really understand the concept of joking yet. Once they get it, they can still be convinced of just about anything by anyone in a position of authority or someone they’re told to respect. Most adults don’t abuse that position, but liberals do.” [editor’s note: I didn’t know Hunter was a “liberal!” – TLK] (09/08/26)
- The Right’s Long March Toward Illiberalism
Source: The Daily Economy
by Marcus M Witcher“Laura K. Field’s ‘Furious Minds’ traces the intellectual evolution of the New Right and the ideas driving its rejection of liberalism.” (09/08/26)
https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/the-rights-long-march-toward-illiberalism/
- 25 years after 9/11, the US still doesn’t know “why they hate us”
Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Scott Hibbard“The failures of America’s war on terror were rooted in a misdiagnosis of the problem. The Bush administration promoted the idea that the 9/11 hijackers were motivated by their hatred of American values and rejected any notion that U.S. policies contributed to either anti-American sentiment or violent extremism. ‘They’ hated us for who we are, it was argued, not what we do. … While the intent of the American military strategy was to deny terrorist groups safe havens, the practical effect was the opposite. American military interventions destabilized entire regions and created the kind of lawless anarchy in which militant groups proliferated. U.S. interventions also exacerbated anti-American sentiments and allowed militant groups to portray themselves as nationalist defenders fighting an occupying enemy.” (09/08/26)
- God Help Us, Let’s Try To Learn About Mechanistic Interpretability Techniques
Source: Astral Codex Ten
by Scott Alexander“Mechanistic interpretability is the science of ‘reading an AI’s mind’. Large language models are ‘grown, not built’. Researchers run training data through a neural network. Eventually this creates a working AI; nobody really knows how. But a neural network is just a set of simulated neurons on a computer. The person with the computer can see the neurons, the connections between them, and which ones activate when the AI answers questions. So it seems like it should be possible to ‘reverse engineer’ the AI. … Unfortunately this is very hard.” (09/08/26)
https://www.astralcodexten.com/p/god-help-us-lets-try-to-learn-about
- Donald Trump Is Rearranging the Empire, Not Dismantling It
Source: Libertarian Institute
by José Niño“Two terms, dozens of announced withdrawals, and the Army’s brigades are still unpacking their gear in Europe, the Pacific, and beyond. Rhetoric about restraint and retrenchment is one thing; the discipline to see it through is another. On that score, the Trump administration has been exactly what its critics always suspected: all talk, no action.” (09/08/26)
https://libertarianinstitute.org/articles/donald-trump-is-rearranging-the-empire-not-dismantling-it/
- America is at war in … Ecuador?
Source: Los Angeles Times
by Jon Duffy“American forces are conducting combat operations in South America right now. If that comes as news, it is because the administration has disclosed the mission only in fragments, and Congress has not forced a public accounting. United States Green Berets are operating alongside Ecuadorian forces in the northern province of Esmeraldas in what the provincial governor described as joint operations against ‘narcoterrorism.’ Neither government has said which organizations the ground operations are targeting, what the troops are doing or how many Americans are involved.” (09/08/26)
- Washington Is Underwriting the Proliferation It Went to War To Stop
Source: Antiwar.com
by Thomas S Karat“The Trump administration sent Congress its civil nuclear cooperation agreement with Saudi Arabia. Asked what the deal permits, the president wrote: There will be no enrichment of material. His own Energy Secretary, Chris Wright, has said the opposite. The agreement gives Riyadh a pathway to enrich uranium on its own soil, and in doing so the potential for a Saudi nuclear Bomb. To placate fears Wright has put enrichment years down the road but not in doubt. Wright is describing the document. Trump is describing a country he is at war with to prevent from doing exactly this.” (09/08/260
- As Another School Year Begins, Whose Children Do We Remember?
Source: Common Dreams
by Zahra Eslami“Summer passed. People traveled, went into nature, spent time with family, laughed, rested, and enjoyed life—and that is a good thing. Now school has started again, and children are walking back into classrooms with backpacks, excitement, and plans for another year. But for many families, there is no return to normal. Since the war in Iran began earlier this year, civilians have been killed, injured, displaced, and traumatized. Sometimes their stories reach us. Sometimes they barely break through the noise. I still think about the girls’ elementary school in Minab, where more than 100 children were killed. They were children. Students. We call children ‘angels’, and then somehow their deaths become another statistic of war.” (09/08/26)
https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/which-children-remember
- China and the Rule of Law
Source: Law & Liberty
by Leonidas Zelmanovitz“China’s growth is not the result of command.” (09/08/26)
- The Advantage of the Stronger
Source: Law & Liberty
by Jeffrey Polet“More is at stake in the US-Canada trade war than just tariffs and revenue.” (09/08/26)
- Did Bin Laden Defeat America?
Source: The American Conservative
by David Brady“According to Brown University’s Costs of War project, the military interventions we collectively know as the Global War on Terror (GWOT) led to the deaths of over 900,000 people and cost the United States more than $8 trillion. Afghanistan and Iraq ended in failure. Most Americans (at least, those not named Marc Thiessen or Bill Kristol) believe that the post-9/11 wars in the Middle East were a mistake. Indeed, this was a major part of Donald Trump’s initial appeal: ‘They lied,’ he said of the GWOT’s architects in 2016. We are now a quarter of a century on from the horrific events of September 11. And looking back, it is more important than ever to understand what caused them, and why bin Laden seemed to have gotten what he wanted out of the attacks.” (09/08/26)
https://www.theamericanconservative.com/did-bin-laden-defeat-america/
- Help Workers by Breaking Down Barriers to Labor Mobility
Source: Reason
by Ily Somin“Labor Day is a great time to remember that we can make workers vastly better off by empowering more of them to vote with their feet, both within countries and through international migration.” (09/07/26)
https://reason.com/volokh/2026/09/07/help-workers-by-breaking-down-barriers-to-labor-mobility-4/
- The Democratic Chicken, or the Socialist Egg?
Source: American Greatness
by Victor Davis Hanson“The primaries are over, and the November general election looms. Suddenly, the Islamo-socialist podcaster Hasan Piker (who is now infamous for blaming America for 9/11 and warning Jews that ‘someone’s going to come around and take action, not against the state of Israel, mind you, but against American Jews’) is persona non grata on the Democratic stump. Abdul El-Sayed, the Democratic nominee in the Michigan Senate race, once enlisted Piker to jump-start his lethargic candidacy. Now that he is locked in a close general-election race against a strong Republican, El-Sayed dismisses the antisemite, who has suddenly outlived his usefulness, as a mere ‘social media person in California’. Clinton-era Democratic politicos like Rahm Emanuel and James Carville insist that Democrats have ‘divorced’ themselves from the hard-left Democratic Socialists. Really? If that divorce were real, why would so many Democrats be cheering a potential Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez presidential run in 2028?” (09/08/26)
https://amgreatness.com/2026/09/08/the-democratic-chicken-or-the-socialist-egg/
- Not stopping 9/11 was catastrophic but bigger mistakes came later
Source: Asia Times
by Greg Barton“In September 2026 we live in a world of uncertainty and change. Geopolitics, technology and the physical world are experiencing rapid transformation that fascinates and terrifies in equal measure. Much of this would have occurred without September 11, but there is a sense in which that day changed all these things. The collapse of 80 years of global order cannot be said to have simply resulted from the world’s biggest terror attack, but it certainly played a role in triggering a series of responses that changed all the nations involved. Could the September 11 attacks have been foreseen and prevented? Absolutely. … One clear way the September 11 attacks changed the world was as a catalyst for a decades-long global ‘War on Terror.’ This war never had a clear strategic plan or an agreed endpoint.” (09/07/26)
https://asiatimes.com/2026/09/not-stopping-9-11-was-catastrophic-but-bigger-mistakes-came-later/
- Is Wage Labor Freedom or Servitude?
Source: The UnPopulist
by Brink Lindsey“Every Labor Day, Americans participate in a holiday whose meaning has gradually thinned out—stripped down to a three-day weekend, end-of-summer sales, and only a passing nod to ‘workers.’ American thinking about work and freedom used to run much deeper than that. At the Founding, and for the decades that followed, working for wages wasn’t seen as a normal fact of economic life. Rather, it was widely regarded as a form of dependence, a glorified form of servitude. That suspicion of wage labor shaped one of the 19th century’s defining political movements. Today, on Labor Day, its logic is worth closer examination. I’m proposing that we go back to the future, reviving the ‘free labor’ vision of Abraham Lincoln and fellow early Republicans.” (09/07/26)
https://www.theunpopulist.net/p/is-wage-labor-freedom-or-servitude
- You Won’t Win the Revolution
Source: Liberal Currents
by Alan Elrod“The descent of stable societies into ones of endemic violence rarely produces anything but new forms of tyranny and terror. People are fond of citing history’s most famous revolutions in support of such extremism, but the full record of armed revolt is mixed to say the least. Widespread revolt in contemporary America is unlikely, but it is also not something we should wish for. Luigi Mangione is not patient zero for revolution discourse, but he is a good example of how febrile contemporary American politics has become.” (09/07/26)
https://www.liberalcurrents.com/you-wont-win-the-revolution/
- Canada Strikes Back
Source: The American Prospect
by Gabrielle Gurley“The Detroit–Windsor, Ontario region was poised for an economic and psychic boost courtesy of the opening of the Gordie Howe International Bridge this summer. Travelers would save time transiting the border, tolls would be cheaper, and even cyclists and pedestrians could make the trip. But the White House had so poisoned the atmosphere surrounding the bridge—demanding and securing new concessions on revenues, even though Canada fronted all the costs—that Michigan and Ontario ended up holding separate celebrations. Ontario Premier Doug Ford headlined the Canadian ribbon-cutting, featuring various provincial and national dignitaries and members of Gordie Howe’s family. Michiganders had Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) cruising across the span a couple of days later in a Michigan-made Mustang convertible.” (09/08/26)
https://prospect.org/2026/09/08/canada-strikes-back-tariff-war/
- The Multi-Billion Dollar Tamiflu Con
Source: Brownstone Institute
by Alan Cassels“In 2009, during the H1N1 swine flu panic, I was among a few vocal health policy critics remarking that public health officials were strangely and repeatedly invoking the terrifying spectre of the 1918 Spanish flu. Why? We had no idea what was going on, but in hindsight the game being played was quite clear: Evoking the worst infectious outbreak in living memory was pretty much a corporate-backed push to justify the stockpiling of an antiviral known as Tamiflu (generic name: oseltamivir). … Roche, the drug’s manufacturer, assured us that it would prevent flu complications, reduce hospitalizations, and stop transmission. Those are the bad things we hoped Tamiflu would help us avoid. The global gastronomic appetite for Tamiflu came with a bit of heartburn: the manufacturer hid the data which supported its approval and licensing.” (09/07/26)
https://brownstone.org/articles/the-multi-billion-dollar-tamiflu-con/
- Reason Roundtable, 09/08/26
Source: Reason
“Why Public Schools Lost 1.4 Million Students.” (09/08/26)
https://reason.com/podcast/2026/09/08/why-public-schools-lost-1-4-million-students/
- Capital Record, episode 320
Source: National Review
“Gratitude for Higher Football Costs.” (09/08/26)
https://www.nationalreview.com/podcasts/capital-record/gratitude-for-higher-football-costs/
- Ron Paul Liberty Report, 09/08/26
Source: Ron Paul Liberty Report
“‘Golden Age’ Iran War Update: Americans Have Paid $100B in Extra Energy Costs.” (09/08/26)
- Rising, 09/08/26
Source: The Hill
“Socialists praise ‘fatness and ugliness’, attack MAHA’s ‘Health fascism.’” (09/08/260
- Reason Interview: CJ Ciaramella
Source: Reason
“Why America’s Prisons Keep Failing.” (09/08/26)
https://reason.com/podcast/2026/09/08/why-americas-prisons-keep-failing/
- The Dispatch Podcast, 09/08/26
Source: The Dispatch Podcast
“After Trump.” (09/08/26)
https://thedispatch.com/podcast/dispatch-podcast/the-very-bad-midterms-to-come-for-the-gop/
- Checks & Balances, 09/08/26
Source: Checks & Balances
“Everybody Agrees: This is a Rule of Law Imperative.” (09/08/26)
https://chkbal.substack.com/p/everybody-agrees-this-is-a-rule-of
- Radio Atlantic, 09/07/26
Source: The Atlantic
“How the Government Wastes Our Time.” (09/07/26)
https://www.theatlantic.com/podcasts/2026/09/ra-the-time-tax/688503
- Trump Watch, 09/08/26
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
“Scapegoats for Federal Crises.” (09/08/26)
- Antiwar News with Dave DeCamp, 09/07/26
Source: Antiwar.com
“Saudi Strike on Yemen Prison Kills 7, US, Japan, South Korea Start Military Drills, and More.” (09/07/26)
- Fountainhead Forum, episode 483
Source: Fountainhead Forum
‘Eric Kohn on China’s persecution of Jimmy Lai and the fall of Hong Kong.” (09/07/26)
- Larry Johnson on The Kyle Anzalone Show
Source: Libertarian Institute
“How Long Can the Military Fight Trump’s War Against Iran?” (09/07/26)
- EconTalk, 09/07/26
Source: EconTalk
“Meritocracy, Exams, and the Knowledge That Matters (with Daisy Christodoulou).” (09/07/26)
https://www.econtalk.org/meritocracy-exams-and-the-knowledge-that-matters-with-daisy-christodoulou/
- Nolan Denaro on The Scott Horton Show
Source: The Scott Horton Show
“Nolan Denaro on JD Vance, Pete Hegseth and the Failures of MAGA War Hawks.” (09/06/26)
- The Corbett Report, episode 507
Source: The Corbett Report
“The Incredible TRUE Story of the Pentagon’s Missing Trillions.” (09/07/260
https://corbettreport.com/the-incredible-true-story-of-the-pentagons-missing-trillions/
- Free Talk Live, 09/06/26
Source: Free Talk Live
“Riley plays bagpipes in sowntown Keene to promote his run for state rep. :: local campaigns :: Dave Ridley calls about free state politics :: Sarah in NM calls about NM politics :: NY amish threaten exodus over vaccine mandates :: Skeeter calls to challenge libertarian ideas :: David in NM calls to be silly :: Ribeye del Monaco :: chewing myrrh :: Bernie Sanders wants a new agency to oversee AI development :: FBI investigating millions of DLs being sold on dark web :: is the bond market doomed? :: Twitch creators suing over having their content used to train AI :: 2026-09-06 :: Hosts: Stu, Riley O’Bill, Mr. Penguin, Mark Edge.” (09/06/26)
- TechTank, season 5, episode 48
Source: Brookings Institution
“Bans on screen time will uniquely affect students of color.” (09/07/26)
- Unattended Baggage, episode 355
Source: Unattended Baggage
“Somebody’s watching me.” (09/05/26)
https://unattendedbaggage.substack.com/p/episode-355-somebodys-watching-me
- The Good Fight, 09/05/26
Source: Yascha Mounk
“Jared Diamond on Whether Leaders Make History.” (09/05/26)
- Data Centers Are Not the Problem
Source: Reason
“But almonds might be.” (09/04/26)
https://reason.com/video/2026/09/04/data-centers-are-not-the-problem/